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It had been days since Jaehee and Seven had a conversation that lasted more than a couple of minutes. Every time something was brought up, Seven found a way to wrap it up as fast as he possibly could. Jaehee couldn't take it for very much longer, it was getting hard for her to see him without feeling a sickening amount of guilt. She wasn't sure what she had done, but he was making it obvious that something was wrong.
She spent quite a bit of time agonizing over whether or not she should bring it up to him and concluded that she had to. If she didn't, she was worried that things would just continue to get worse. She promised herself that she would do it once she got home from work today. Even if he was just going to decide to ignore her, she felt obligated to try.
On her way home, she reflected on everything that had gone on in their relationship thus far. She could not think of a single thing that would have provoked him to act the way that he was acting. After all, she was under the impression that everything was good between them until he started to shut her out. He had left the agency, he was safe. Things were going so well.
Seven was the first person Jaehee had found herself to be completely comfortable with. She felt that she was able to be open and honest with him. He made her feel safe. But now, it seemed like he didn't feel the same. She needed to find out what was wrong.
As she pulled into her driveway, she could feel a pit forming in her stomach. She had been dreading this conversation all day. Jaehee was sure that she had made some sort of mistake, and she was worried that there wasn't going to be a way for her to fix it. All there was left to do was ask, though.
She stood outside the door for a while, mentally preparing herself for what may or may not happen inside. Once she felt that she was as ready as she could be, she walked inside, immediately going to look for Seven.
It didn't take her long at all to find him, it wasn't like there were a lot of places that he could be, but she still found herself hesitating. It took her longer than she would like to admit to decide what exactly she wanted to say.
"Luciel, I'm home," she called quietly. She heard a very soft 'hi' from inside the living room, the only indicator that he had even heard her, and walked further inside.
"How was your day?" She asked, earning a shrug in response. They sat in silence for a moment after that, causing Jaehee to lose all hope of being able to avoid this conversation. "Why won't you talk to me anymore?" She blurted, not even realizing that she was speaking until she had finished.
The look on Seven's face turned from one of mild discomfort to complete and utter shock. He hadn't been expecting that question, especially not from Jaehee. But of course, he couldn't blame her. He knew better than anyone that he had been rather silent lately, he was doing it on purpose.
"Did I do something wrong? I need you to tell me, if I did." She seemed sincere, like she wanted to fix whatever it was she thought that she did.
"You didn't," he muttered, looking anywhere but at her.
"Then what is it? If I didn't do anything, then what's wrong?" She was trying her best to stay calm because it was obvious that getting upset wasn't going to accomplish anything, but she was having a hard time. She wasn't mad at him, but she felt hurt. She didn't understand what was going on.
"Jae, I'd rather not, um… do this right now." He glanced over at her, and immediately wished that he hadn't. The expression on her face broke his heart. He wanted so badly to tell her that everything was fine but he just couldn't . He couldn't.
"You can talk to me, you know that. I will listen no matter what." Silence. Seven didn't even know what to say to her anymore. She turned away from him, looking out at the wall in front of her. "I thought that you trusted me."
What she said was barely audible, but he heard. No matter how much he may have wished he didn't, he heard. Still, he didn't have anything to say. There wasn't any way for him to explain in his eyes. How could he tell her that he wanted to leave again, that he wasn't really safe? The agency could always come back for him. She wouldn't understand. Even if he found a way to say it, she wouldn't understand.
"Why isn't this working, Luciel? Things were going so well, and they aren't now. If it isn't my fault, then what is it? Do you… not like me anymore? Is that it?" She was finding it harder and harder to keep her feelings under control. Her thoughts were becoming jumbled, but even she knew that what she said was irrational. She just couldn't help it.
"I can't- I… I need it to stop, Jae. I can't." He leaned over, hiding his face in his hands. He felt like he was going to throw up.
It was Jaehee's turn to be silent, then. She had a hard time processing what he just told her. "You need what to stop?" This couldn't be happening. If he were to just break up with her, after everything, she didn't know what she would do. She loved him, so much.
"This. I can't… We can't, anymore. I need us to stop." He sounded shaky, unsure, but he meant what he was saying. He didn't believe that he deserved someone like Jaehee. It was important that he split things off before he made it any worse. All she was doing was taking care of him, he couldn't offer her anything in return. It wasn't fair for him to stay. That's what he believed.
They sat in silence for a very long time, neither of them even looking at each other. They were hurting, and there was nothing either of them could do to help the other.
"Was there more that I could have done?" she asked, hesitantly. She didn't know what would be worse. If there was something she could have done, or if there was nothing. But still, she wanted to know. If he wouldn't tell her anything else, he could at least tell her that.
"No, Jae, I-" he stood up all of a sudden, grabbing his jacket off the back of the couch. "I'm sorry." He turned, trying to get out of there as fast as he could.
The only move she made to stop him from walking away was calling out for him to wait, and it partially worked. He stood at the door, face turned away from Jaehee, and waited for her to say what she wanted to say. He knew that it wouldn't change the outcome, but the least he could do was listen to her one last time.
"I love you. You don't have to leave right now. You could stay here with me. You don't have to tell me anything. You could go back to ignoring me, if you wanted. Just- don't leave." She was practically begging for him to stay, and as much as he wanted to listen, he couldn't.
He stayed completely silent because he knew that nothing he could say would make her feel any better. He needed things to end, it was best that way. If he wasn't there, he couldn't be a burden any longer.
" Please . I want you to stay. That is all I want, I promise. Just come back, we can… work things out." This was her last resort, she was willing to make any compromise necessary. He just had to talk to her. "I thought that we had something, Luciel. It's worth working for."
Seven shook his head and looked down at his feet. He knew that she was telling the truth, she wouldn't lie to him, but it didn't matter. He couldn't give her what she wanted.
When Jaehee didn't say anything else, he left. He left, and he didn't bother looking back.